BENGALURU: Hundreds of people took part in the Bengaluru TownHall, a citizens’ collective protest, at Freedom Park on Saturday, opposing the proposed Tunnel Road project, the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act (GBGA) and amendments to lake buffer zones. The collective demanded better public transport, implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment and stronger protection of Bengaluru’s fragile ecosystems.
The protesters warned that the city is collapsing under the burden of unplanned development, environmental destruction and governance failures. They alleged that the Karnataka government is ignoring constitutional mandates, bypassing due process, and pushing arbitrary non-plan projects that threaten the city’s future.
“GBGA overturns the 74th CAA and the state government is taking charge of the city in violation of the Constitution. Due process is being bypassed for projects like the tunnel road, which has not been approved by the MPC or BMLTA. In fact, BMLTA has disapproved of it as being against mobility goals. Under the Act, taking up projects without BMLTA approval is punishable.
Further, citizens have been disempowered under GBGA by giving councillors veto power over ward committees and by abolishing area sabhas that allowed residents to participate in planning their neighbourhoods,” said Kathyayini Chamraj, Executive Trustee of CIVIC Bangalore.
Sandeep Anirudhan from Citizens’ Agenda for Bengaluru criticised the state government’s proposal to reduce buffer zones of lakes. Stressing their ecological importance, he warned that without protecting lakes, wetlands and green cover, the city faces collapse. He added that the government has ignored the Constitution by failing to provide a metropolitan planning authority, a proper master plan, and devolved urban governance.
Actor, director and activist Prakash Belawadi, who has been actively engaging with experts and citizens on the issue, questioned both the rationale and feasibility of the proposed tunnel project.
Speaking to TNIE, Belawadi said, “Sometimes a tunnel is the right solution — in very congested spots where you can’t build an elevated road. But this project is not that. Here, you’re putting a twin tunnel under an existing road and a Metro line above it, which makes no sense. Look at the Metro — even with just three trains on the Yellow Line on the first day, nearly 57,000 people used it. If we simply expand the Metro and suburban rail, we can move lakhs of people every day. Why spend thousands of crores on a tunnel that will carry only a fraction of that?”
Further highlighting the legal steps being planned, he added, “We are of course seriously contemplating legal steps too. We are already in the process of filing a legal challenge to the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill in the Supreme Court and we are also preparing a legal challenge in the in NGT (National Green Tribunal) to Tunnel Roads and other non-plan infrastructure projects.”